Church Cluster Pondering Smaller ‘Footprint’
South Wedge-area churches face divergent challenges: Too much space vs. not enough
The futures of three neighborhood Catholic churches — including one in the South Wedge — are being studied by parishioners and parish leadership (with help from an outside consultant).
The houses of worship — St. Boniface Church, 330 Gregory St. (in the South Wedge); Blessed Sacrament Church, 534 Oxford St. (at the corner of Monroe Avenue); and St. Mary’s Church, 15 St. Mary’s Place (downtown) — comprise the Southeast Rochester Catholic Community, a cluster of onetime distinct parishes within the Diocese of Rochester.
Over the past approximately five years, the cluster’s Pastoral Parish Council, including representatives from each of the churches, has been exploring potential contraction options amid growing expenses and, after a brief uptick around a year ago, declining weekly Mass attendance and falling income from collections. The body has developed three potential strategies based on perceived viability and support.
The options for possible consolidation were detailed to churchgoers in March presentations, followed by question-and-answer sessions.
“No decisions have been made,” Amy Voelkl, a St. Mary’s council member, told a group of about 50 people gathered for the formal presentation and Q&A period following Mass on March 10 at Blessed Sacrament. Additional feedback would be sought from parishioners before a recommendation is made to church leadership and the diocese, she said.
In a follow-up message sent to parishioners in July, Voelkl wrote, in part: “We want you to know that a consensus on our future has not been reached and we have made no decisions to close a church or buildings. Working toward such a weighty recommendation and in light of the feedback we have received, we are taking a step back to review and consolidate the information we have.”
Voelkl also led presentations — drawing similar-sized groups — after March 17 Masses at St. Boniface and St. Mary’s churches. She detailed the three scenarios under consideration, including consolidating the trio of churches to one, contracting to two or keeping all three open. In each plan, buyers potentially would be sought for select adjacent assets.
‘Current model not sustainable’
Collectively, the cluster has 14 buildings. St. Boniface assets include the church (its third such structure, built in 1960 after fire destroyed an older church in 1957), rectory, convent, school (currently rented to Nativity Preparatory Academy), parking lot and two stand-alone garages.
“Our current model is not sustainable,” Voelkl told those gathered March 17 at St. Boniface.
Local commercial real-estate firm The Cabot Group, engaged by the cluster as a consultant, told the parish council that churches generally are not easily sold (short of interest from another religious entity, which is regarded as possibly unlikely). Factors influencing the marketability of some church properties include needed upgrades and possible asbestos-abatement in older structures. The presence of asbestos in aging buildings makes razing them problematic, and simply “mothballing” them (in essence, not using the structures) isn’t viable due to potential liability issues, parishioners were told.
“I’ve been thinking about this since I came here,” the Rev. John Loncle, Southeast Rochester Catholic Community pastor, said. Upon his appointment in 2017, he said, he was told by the bishop that the three parishes collectively have too many buildings.
“Maintaining all of these buildings is a challenge,” Loncle said at the March 10 gathering at Blessed Sacrament. But he acknowledged the congregations’ passionate sentiments toward each of the three churches and the likelihood that closure of any one of them could result in parishioner attrition.
‘Historic’ older churches — and newer dilemmas
St. Mary’s Church (built in 1853) and rectory were added in 1992 to the National Register of Historic Places. The designation, along with the need to “follow Church law governing the sale of church buildings that will no longer be used for worship” (according to the Anno Domini Advisors website) could impact the marketability of church properties.
In a recent web search on commercial real-estate online marketplace LoopNet, three current or former church/religious facilities locally were listed for sale, including one just outside the South Wedge at 159 Alexander Street (formerly the South Congregational Church, founded in 1886).
Evan Schaefer of Benchmark Realty Advisors, 898 S. Clinton Ave., the agent for the Alexander Street property, said the church is vacant, has been on the market for more than a year and is in need of updates. There has been some interest in the property among potential buyers, he said. A developer potentially could consider such a structure for redevelopment into unique housing (possibly with tax incentives), Schaefer said.
Former church-property listings are rare, he said. In the first couple weeks after Benchmark added it, in March of this year, he had given at least a half dozen tours. Other religious groups that might have outgrown their space are common prospects, he said.
Schaefer said the marketability of old church buildings is largely dependent upon how much they’re in need of repair. “It really depends on the condition of them,” he said. “A lot of the older churches that are in really bad condition tend to sit around awhile.”
A local Free Methodist church — facing a problem opposite that of the Southeast Rochester Catholic cluster — is outgrowing its space and has considered unused former church properties in the Rochester area for possible relocation.
Community of the Savior, 4 E. Henrietta Road (in the Upper Mount Hope neighborhood, adjacent to the South Wedge), is unable to add on to its existing structure, and its site also has some accessibility issues, Kent Gardner, the congregation’s finance-committee leader, said.
Representatives of the church have looked at, among others, the old South Congregational Church site on Alexander Street. Gardner described it as “interesting,” but in need of significant repair (so not currently under consideration by Community of the Savior).
Gardner said despite current space issues, he expects Community of the Savior to stay in its present location (the former South Presbyterian Church, built in 1925, and its home since 2014) for the foreseeable future.
Despite maintenance costs associated with an older building, the church is strong financially, he said. “We’re not awash in cash, but we can pay our bills.”
In addition to income generated from renting antenna space to the Dish Network, the church also hosts longtime tenant, Ellwanger Barry Nursery School (a parent-run cooperative-style school that’s housed in a newer structure built in 1951).
“It’s been a good location for us,” Gardner said. “We’re really committed to this neighborhood.”
Another South Wedge place of worship, also housed in an older, traditional red-brick building, Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit, 835 South Ave., is faring generally well, according to its pastor, the Rev. James Berends.
When the congregation moved into the former South Avenue Baptist Church in 1998, the structure (built in 1909) was given updates. Since then, regular maintenance (some performed by churchgoers) and periodic major projects (such as, a few years ago, window replacements) have been completed.
Similar to Community of the Savior’s predicament, Greek Orthodox Church is restricted from expansion by its physical location. “We’re sort of land-locked,” Berends said. Unlike Community of the Savior, it generates no rental income (its only tenant, St. John the Theologian Bookstore, is part of the church). Greek Orthodox has no immediate plans to resume its popular annual Greek Festival, which hasn’t been held since before the COVID-19 pandemic, Berends said.
Sunday church attendance, he said, is still bouncing back from pre-lockdown levels, but it’s generally holding up, Berends said.
While Community of the Savior is outgrowing its limited space, Southeast Rochester Catholic Community, awash in more space than it currently needs, faces another challenge beyond older structures, shrinking congregations and smaller collections.
At the March 17 presentation at St. Boniface, the Rev. Loncle highlighted the current problem of a priest shortage, which is likely to grow more dire due to a number of priests locally who already are in their 70s and 80s. “The reality is really going to hit hard,” Loncle said.
Whereas 25 years ago, each of the three parishes in the Catholic cluster had its own priest, since 2000 the three churches have been run by a single pastor (typically assisted by other priests). In addition to Loncle, the cluster is served today by the Rev. Ed Palumbos (a senior priest), three deacons and laypeople.
Church’s long history in the Wedge
St. Boniface Church parish, in the South Wedge, formed in 1859. The congregation’s second church was constructed 1886–1887. The 1957 fire, started during a roof-repair project, destroyed the edifice. Its replacement, the current St. Boniface Church building, was completed in 1960. Current annual expenses run $831,450. For the fiscal year ending June 30, it took in $180,434 in collections.
The cluster’s two-church option (which would realize estimated annual savings of $298,400) under consideration would keep St. Boniface and St. Mary’s open, while scaling back Blessed Sacrament (despite the latter having the largest seating capacity and, in general, the most weekly churchgoers and largest collection income: $388,387 for the fiscal year ended June 30). Blessed Sacrament, which, according to Loncle, needs repairs and has the highest expenses among the three churches, would be used as a parish center for offices, a community center, meeting space and a chapel. Blessed Sacrament’s convent, rectory and adjacent Talbot House (a residence currently leased to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester) would be designated for sale.
In the single-church option (estimated savings of $1.4 million), Blessed Sacrament (built in 1912) would be the only church staying open (with renovations, including ADA compliance). Its supper program and annual next-to-new sales would be unaffected, and Talbot House would be converted to a priests’ residence.
The former Blessed Sacrament School, currently partially leased to Innova Girls Academy Charter School (a tax-funded K–6 charter school that opened last fall), generates market-rate income for the cluster. In contrast, Nativity Preparatory Academy, at St. Boniface, shares expenses with the parish, but it doesn’t generate income beyond costs associated with maintaining the building, Loncle said. Nativity’s lease recently ran out and was currently being renegotiated, he said.
If the three-church option (estimated savings of $373,800) — keeping the trio of churches open as regular worship places serving distinct city neighborhoods — is selected, it’s likely the St. Boniface convent eventually would be put up for sale. A hindrance in finding a buyer, however, could be the structure’s limited parking and street access.
Parishioners voice their opinions
Although some people who spoke at the March 10 meeting expressed reservations about any of the churches closing, one parishioner advocated for the “most radical” single-church option in order to both create a unified community and to put the issue to rest for the foreseeable future, instead of needing to potentially revisit it again a few years down the road.
A parishioner at the March 17 gathering at St. Mary’s called on laypeople to do more, including possibly administratively running the parishes (potentially freeing the priest to focus more on pastoral concerns). Another attendee highlighted the importance of maintaining a church presence downtown. Loncle pointed out that center city’s working population is lower compared with a few years ago and its rising residential population in places such as Innovation Square (formerly Xerox Tower) is young and, often, non-Christian/Catholic.
A speaker seemingly referring to the presentation’s emphasis on the cluster’s physical assets reminded the group, “We are people, not buildings.”
Summarizing the cluster’s current predicament, Loncle said: “We need to be realistic about where we’re going with our buildings. We have to deal with the reality of the situation.”
A representative of The Cabot Group did not return phone calls from The WEDGE seeking additional information.
The Pastoral Parish Council will continue to evaluate feedback gathered from parishioners after the March presentations. “We want to listen to what you have to say,” Voelkl told parishioners. She said a recommendation regarding one of the three options could possibly come within a year. The Diocese of Rochester would then be advised, with any final decision resting with Bishop Salvatore Matano. There’s no precise timeline, however, partly due to the diocese’s bankruptcy and reorganization, along with Matano’s expected retirement.
In June, the cluster announced an initial contraction step (attributed to the priest shortage): The elimination of one Sunday Mass. Effective July 1, its Mass schedule dropped to three Sunday Masses (one each at Blessed Sacrament, St. Boniface and St. Mary’s), plus a Saturday Vigil Mass (rotating between St. Boniface and St. Mary’s).
Other nearby Roman Catholic parish clusters — including one comprising St. Anne Church, 1600 Mt. Hope Ave., and Our Lady of Lourdes in Brighton — announced in April that they, too, would soon begin studying the future of four parishes. Similarly, they cited as concerns fewer and aging priests, building maintenance and available financial resources. The other two parishes are Our Lady Queen of Peace and St. Thomas More (each in Brighton).
Other U.S. dioceses, including Buffalo’s, have announced planned diocesan-wide contractions. According to published reports, the Diocese of Buffalo intends to merge more than a third of its parishes — citing the priest shortage, declining Mass attendance and financial struggles. The Archdioceses of Baltimore and Seattle and the Diocese of Peoria, Ill., this year announced similar plans for upcoming parish consolidations. Meanwhile, in St. Louis, the planned merger of two parishes was halted after an appeal to the Vatican was upheld.
[Originally appeared in The WEDGE, August/September 2024.]
